It can be dispiriting to be Russia’s first ombudsman for business in a country
that is routinely ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt.

Patience and a sense of humour clearly help Boris Titov, a former oil and
agricultural chemicals executive, in his unenviable task of defending
entrepreneurs from blackmail and imprisonment by corrupt bureaucrats and
police, who often conspire with rival businesses to steal their companies in
“raider” attacks.

Russia “is not yet a civilised market economy”, he admitted drily as he
explained why President Putin had created the office of ombudsman and
appointed him last June. “The